Judging by the reaction online, first impressions are mixed. Hardcore fans of Simmons and co-conspirator(?) Chuck Klosterman seems delighted, but quite a few people are underwhelmed by the first day presentation.

Speaking of the podcast, there's a section for them, but no new ones have been recorded. There is space for two new "blogs" ... that have no posts on them. Even the much-talked-about stable of new writers that Grantland very publicly hired don't get their names on the masthead.

"Editors" Dave Eggers and Malcolm Gladwell? Nowhere to be found. Seems a little light for a site with such a long lead up.

The design: A matter of personal preference, but a few Twitter users have criticized the sparse design, with a giant Klondike/Subway ad smack in the middle. The pagination of longer stories won't win any fans. (Particularly those to Simmons' ESPN ramblings.)

Other than that, there's not much to talk about – because there's not much there. Personally, there were four stories and we didn't even finish three of them because of the length (and some lack of interest.)

Perhaps the one we did finish – the editor's note – sums up the biggest issue Grantland has to face? Why does it exist? Simmons himself doesn't even seem to know.

Of the four goals he spells out, two are essentially the same thing – hire good people, which is a means not an end – and the third is "make money."

Four is to make use of the freedom and format that ESPN.com doesn't allow, but Simmons doesn't seem to have thought about (or can't articulate) in what that freedom means or in what way it should be exercised.

Nowhere in his opening essay does he provide a clear vision or even a justification for Grantland existence. His other statements on the matter have been less than gung-ho about the project.

Perhaps he didn't have to think about it, because for him, there's almost nothing riding on this. The investment is all ESPN's and the writers who left day jobs to come work for him. He says he wants to focus on quality over quantity, as if none of his bosses will be keeping track of pageviews. At least he'll have plenty of time to figure it out.